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Bexar County receives policy project grant

April 4, 2011

AUSTIN, Texas – Bexar County Commissioners Court is one of four Texas recipients of $446,615 in grants awarded by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health to improve mental health services for children and adults across Texas. This is the third year of the foundation’s grant initiative to improve local, state and federal policies that affect Texas consumers of mental health services.

Bexar County’s mental health system is a patchwork of services and providers who operate independently with little or no coordination. As a result, people experiencing a mental health crisis can have a difficult time getting appropriate treatment and could be sent to an emergency room, locked up in the county jail, or remain untreated and homeless.

A consortium of local leaders and stakeholders appointed by county commissioners and funded by the $162,854 grant will develop a blueprint to coordinate and improve mental health services and reduce costs by providing services in appropriate settings.

“Scarce funding dedicated to serve people with mental illness is about to get more scarce. Thus, we in Bexar County are going to have to find a way to stretch our mental health dollars farther. The mental health consortium will help us do that,” said Dr. Allen Castro, grants manager, Bexar County Department of Community Resources.